guinea pig eating

Question
My guinea pig won't eat and my mom doesn't want to bring him to a vet because we don't have extra money what can I do

Answer
First Michayla let me apologize for not opening this sooner. I'm afraid you're not giving me much information other than your pig won't eat. I understand your mom's reluctance to take him to a vet. There's really not much more the vet can do without a bit more in the way of symptoms.

I'd like to know how old your pig is? As a general rule the life span of a guinea pig is often no more than 4 to 5 years old, and often not even that. And many times the first symptom we see of a pig that is getting ready to cross the rainbow bridge is a loss of appetite.

Try offering him lettuce. Wet it a bit before you put it in the cage. You want him to get the hydration he needs. I'm afraid that he may be quite ill if he's stopped eating altogether, and once they've gotten to that point it's very difficult if not impossible to turn them around. Their body systems such as liver and kidneys begin to shut down quickly.

So please don't fault your mom too badly for being concerned about the cost of veterinary care. It's been my experience that in most cases a vet is just as in the dark about what the case is as the rest of us. They usually want to give antibiotics because they're really not sure what else to do, and seldom will they tell an owner that their beloved pet may be beyond help.

Guinea pigs do not tolerate antibiotics well, and too often they succumb to the treatment rather than the reason it was given.  I wish I had something more hopeful to tell you, but just based on his loss of appetite my intuition and experience tells me he is far more past the point of help than we can give.

I'm sure that doesn't comfort you as I know you're hoping I can say something that will magically make him better. But I would be doing wrong to tell you that I know just what to do and how to make him better.